


Echoes

by The_Plaid_Slytherin



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Companion Jack Harkness, Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-10
Updated: 2010-04-12
Packaged: 2017-10-17 06:43:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/174017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Plaid_Slytherin/pseuds/The_Plaid_Slytherin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the year that never was, the Doctor gives Jack one more chance to travel with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Ow! Damn!" Jack yanked his hand back, stung, and popped his bleeding finger into his mouth. "That hurt."  
  
Seymour, the Sawarsian Snapping Shrub, gave him what he could have sworn was a perturbed look and settled himself in his pot.   
  
"Oh, you only eat for Ianto, do you?" asked Jack archly, shaking the container of food in front of the plant. The largest leaf jerked once, as if to nod.   
  
"You sure know how to make a guy feel welcome," Jack told Seymour, setting the container back on the table. "Do you realize how quiet it is when everybody's gone?"  
  
Seymour twitched a leaf again, perhaps to indicate he did know, considering he never left the Hub.   
  
Sighing, Jack jammed his hands in his trouser pockets. Even the plants weren't feeling sociable. Well, he could hardly blame them, with him running off like he had. He was half-dreading the rest of the team's return.   
  
He'd been hoping for a warm welcome, but in the back of his mind, he wondered if they wouldn't be upset at him for running off like that. He paced through the hothouse, looking at, but not really seeing, the various alien plants. He was definitely beginning to regret not waiting for them, to tell them where he was going, but he also knew he couldn't have missed the Doctor.   
  
He supposed he'd just have to sit and wait for everyone to come back–he'd certainly done enough mundane tasks and they hadn't done anything for his mood. Maybe he could take a nap. Dejectedly, he made his way into his office —   
  
— to find the Doctor sitting at his desk, playing with his model airplane.  
  
Jack froze. "What are you doing here?" he asked, blinking in surprise. "Did you forget something?"  
  
The Doctor stared blankly at him. "Did I what? …Oh! Oh, brilliant." The Doctor leapt to his feet and walked toward Jack, looking him up and down. "Is this that same day?" He rubbed his chin. "I _am_ good."   
  
Jack stared. "When you say 'same day,' do you mean…?"  
  
The Doctor set the airplane down and stood, his grin faltering slightly. "I've just come from next Christmas."   
  
"Where's Martha?" Jack was an experienced time-traveler, but there were still parts of it that threatened gave him a headache.   
  
"She's… gone." The Doctor didn't meet his eyes. "Back to her family," he added hastily when he saw Jack's concerned expression. "They needed her."  
  
They stood in silence for a few moments before Jack said, unnecessarily, "My team's not here."  
  
"I gathered," said the Doctor, rubbing the back of his neck. "So. Jack. How are you… faring? After... well…" He trailed off, his gaze drifting back to the various things on Jack's desk, his expression threatening distraction. "I suppose it's not been very long for you." He reached out and began picking up the various small knick-knacks on Jack's desk. "You know, I could fix your camera for you–you realize, this is a camera, right?"  
  
"I got it covered," he said. He made a mental note to tell Ianto it was a camera.  
  
The Doctor nodded and began sorting the pieces of the camera by shape. "Got any plans for the afternoon? I mean, I expect you've not had the time to make them, but…" He straightened a stack of books, rearranging them by size. "You could come with me. For the time being."   
  
Jack started. "What?" He definitely hadn't been expecting that, though he wasn't sure what he _had_ been expecting when the Doctor turned up suddenly in the Hub.  
  
The Doctor looked up at him. "While you're waiting. I can bring you back later today."   
  
Jack blinked. He had just heard the Doctor ask him to come with him, though it had been longer for the Doctor. He'd hesitated saying yes before because he'd wanted to return to his team, and part of him had also suspected that the Doctor hadn't really meant it. But he _did_ have time to kill and the offer was tempting. _Really_ tempting.   
  
"Sure," he said, shrugging, trying to mask his eagerness. "I've got an afternoon to kill."  
  
The Doctor smiled, a genuine, warm smile that gave Jack an unexpected pool of warmth in the pit of his stomach.   
  
"Brilliant!" he said, his grin widening to his eyes. He reached over and plucked a piece of hard candy from the dish, popping it into his mouth. "Allons-y!"  
  


**

  
  
It felt weird for Jack to come back to the TARDIS when he felt he'd just left it. The air felt the same, and there was that same familiar, comforting hum, but there was something different. Jack glanced at the Doctor. How long had he been on his own for? The TARDIS somehow felt as though it had been empty for quite a long time.  
  
"Look!" said the Doctor suddenly. "She's glad you've joined me! She's always liked you, the TARDIS."   
  
Jack placed a hand on one of the coral struts, giving it a fond pat. "Oh? I thought she panicked and ran off to the end of the universe when she saw me."  
  
"Oh, yes." The Doctor rubbed his nose. "Right. Well. I'm sure she's… gotten over that." There was a pause, and then the Doctor turned back to the console, away from Jack. "Where can I take you, Jack, on this trip of ours?"  
  
Jack thought for a moment. He hadn't expected to be prompted to choose, and it was hard, trying to pull some destination out of all of time and space, especially when he was so rusty. Spending over a century in linear time had made him forget what traveling with the Doctor was really like.  
  
"I don't know," he said. "Could you put it on random?"   
  
"Sure!" said the Doctor brightly. "Haven't had it on random for a long time now." He reached over and flicked a switch. Immediately, the TARDIS began to dematerialize and Jack felt that old familiar feeling he'd always had when he was traveling with the Doctor.   
  
He glanced over at the other man. He hadn't yet had a moment to really study him in his new body. It was good. When Jack had first noticed that the Doctor had regenerated, he'd been a little disappointed, but this new body was… really good.   
  
He watched as the Doctor leaned around to look at the monitor, giving Jack a perfect view of his arse, which looked particularly delectable in those tight pinstriped trousers.  
  
"Kindly refrain from drooling in my TARDIS," said the Doctor, without turning to face Jack.  
  
Jack stuck his hands in his pockets and came to stand next to him. "Wouldn't have to if you didn't look so good in that suit. Got a thing for suits. I think I like it more than that ratty old jumper."  
  
The Doctor pretended to pout. "I still don't know what was wrong with that jumper!" He paused. "You know, you've kind of fallen into a habit there yourself." He nodded to indicate Jack's clothes. "Might not be appropriate where we're going. Want to change?"  
  
Jack considered this, but he felt more comfortable dressed like this. He'd been wearing the same "uniform" for sixty years now, and he suddenly realized why.   
  
It had been in the 1940s that he'd first met the Doctor. Had he been clinging to these clothes for over half a century because they reminded him of that time?   
  
He remembered what it had been like before, when he'd had no other choice in the universe but to trust this man, this alien, who he had eventually come to, well, love.   
  
He shrugged. "I think I'll stay like this," he said.  
  
The Doctor grinned. "Me too."   
  
Jack returned his smile. He opened his mouth to say something else, but his thoughts were interrupted by the TARDIS beginning to materialize.   
  
"Here we are!" exclaimed the Doctor.  
  
"Where's here?" Jack asked.  
  
The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know," he said thoughtfully. "But wherever here is, we're there." He regarded the doors thoughtfully. "Who knows what's out there, Jack? Could be anything. Could be Venice, thirteenth century, one of the busiest ports in Europe. Could be Thessafloy, thirty-second century, right on the brink of the Great Rodower War." His lips twitched into a smile that was almost sly. "Shall we have a look?"   
  
Jack returned the Doctor's smile. Yeah, this regeneration was _really_ attractive. "I'm game if you are."   
  
The Doctor grinned, sprang across the console room and threw open the doors.   
  
A bulldozer drove by outside.   
  
Jack came up next to him and stuck his head out the door. "Were you imagining this?"  
  
The Doctor crossed his arms over his chest. "Wasn't at the front of my mind, no." He smirked. " _You_ were the one who suggested I put it on random."  
  
"Shut up," muttered Jack.   
  
The Doctor grinned at him and took a step off the TARDIS. "Ah, well, doesn't matter. I'm sure this place is plenty interesting! TARDIS doesn't pick uninteresting places."   
  
Jack smiled and jammed his hands in his trouser pockets. "An interesting place would be good right about now," he mused. _Could take my mind off some things_ , he added silently.  
  
"Ah! What's this?" The Doctor had already gotten a few paces ahead of him. "Looks like someone's set up a mine! Love a good mine, me. Rocks! Rickety old carts zooming along rails… little men with long, white beards. Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, and all that. Love a mine."   
  
"Oh?" said Jack, falling into step beside him. The Doctor appeared to be correct. The TARDIS had landed in a valley that had perhaps once been teeming with life. Now, however, it had been stripped bare to make room for the mining equipment. The huge cranes and drills stood out starkly against the barren, dusty landscape. The few trees Jack could see on a distant ridge looked very lonely.  
  
"Oh, yes," said the Doctor brightly, as they walked together down the dirt road toward where all the action seemed to be concentrated. "All sorts of lovely mines out there." He began to tick his favorites off on his fingers. "Gold, silver, diamonds, coal, shale, _potash_! Mustn't forget potash. And then of course there's–"   
  
"Halt!" An armed guard pointed his rather large weapon right at the Doctor. Jack winced. He'd spent enough time over the last year being shot that he was a little leery of guns.   
  
"Oh," said the Doctor, glancing down nervously at the long barrel trained on his chest. "Hello. You must… That's really… I'm…" He reached into his pocket and dug around for a moment before producing a familiar black wallet. "John Smith, I'm John Smith," he said, flashing the psychic paper at the guard. "And this is my assistant Jack Harkness." Jack gave the guard a small wave. "We're…" The Doctor tried to turn the psychic paper so he could read what it said.  
  
"You're with those archaeologists?" asked the guard, not bothering to hide his disdain.  
  
"Yes," said the Doctor pleasantly, flipping the psychic paper shut and stowing it safely back in his coat pocket. "We are indeed with those archaeologists."   
  
The guard looked at them skeptically and then jerked his head in the direction of a cluster of tents. "They're expecting you. Maybe if you hurry up and tell them there's nothing down there, we can hurry up and finish this job."  
  
"Perhaps!" said the Doctor. "Because that's our job, you know, to see if anything's there."   
  
Jack nodded.   
  
"Don't you need equipment?" asked the guard suspiciously.   
  
"They have already have the stuff we need," said Jack smoothly. The Doctor looked at him, impressed.   
  
"Right then," said the guard. "Happy digging."   
  
Jack smiled. "Same to you."   
  
"Jack, stop it.  
  
"What?"  
  


**

  
  
The Doctor flashed his psychic paper and a classic grin, and soon, the archaeologists were convinced they'd known he and Jack were coming all along.  
  
"Dr. Smith!" the one who seemed to be their leader exclaimed, rising to his feet. "We've heard so much about you! I'm Roger Bradford– _Doctor_ Roger Bradford, of course." He shook the Doctor's hand enthusiastically.   
  
"It's nice to meet you," said the Doctor, smiling. "I'm… well, you know who I am. You were expecting me, after all. What do you need me for?"  
  
Dr. Bradford looked at him blankly for a moment. "We called you in for a consultation," he said.  
  
"Oh, yes, of course!" The Doctor's features lit up and he turned to look at Jack, a broad smile on his face. "A consultation. We'll be consulting away shortly, me and Jack." He nodded decisively, as if this brought the matter to a close.  
  
"What are we looking for?" asked Jack, rubbing his hands together and trying to look purposeful.   
  
"Anything," said Bradford unhelpfully.   
  
The Doctor and Jack exchanged glances. "That's a bit… broad," said the Doctor.   
  
"Dr. Smith, we need to work quickly," said Bradford. "Johnson's men are going to start digging any day now and we can't afford to waste a moment." He pointed to the dig site in the distance. "By law, we are allowed to go in there and do a survey before they go in and _destroy_ valuable artifacts."   
  
"What sort of artifacts?" asked the Doctor, leaning forward on the balls of his feet.   
  
"Oh, we don't know," said Bradford. "That's why you're here, obviously."   
  
"Right, obviously," said Jack. "So we go down there, poke around, assure those guys there's nothing valuable down here and then we go on our merry way."   
  
"Oh, but there _is_ something valuable down there!" exclaimed Bradford. "We've done scans–there's a pocket of air about fifty feet below us. I'm absolutely positive it's the Holy City of Yanda-Orr."   
  
The Doctor's eyes lit up. "The Holy City of Yanda-Orr," he breathed in a reverent voice.   
  
"Indeed," said Bradford happily. "You can use the shaft Johnson's men have already begun. As soon as we received word of the discovery of the cavern, we ordered a stop-work immediately." He looked at the Doctor and Jack curiously. "Which one of you will be going down?"  
  
The Doctor and Jack looked at each other.   
  
"Going… down?" asked the Doctor. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the year that never was, the Doctor gives Jack one more chance to travel with him.

Five minutes later, the Doctor and Jack were peering down the mineshaft, having a very quiet argument under their breaths.   
  
"I'm going down," said the Doctor quietly. "It's my responsibility."  
  
Jack gave him a pointed look. "Not that again," he muttered. "Look, if anything happens to you–"  
  
"It won't," said the Doctor. He rubbed the back of his neck, a faraway look in his eyes. "I've done this before."  
  
"Precisely why _I_ should be the one to do it," said Jack, shrugging off his coat and reaching for the harness.   
  
"Jack!" said the Doctor sharply, but Jack had already pulled the harness up and was starting to tighten the leg straps.   
  
"Help me with this," he said lowly, glancing at Bradford, who was looking at them skeptically. He supposed it did look suspicious, considering they were supposed to have done this every day.   
  
The Doctor scowled, but he helped Jack strap himself to the winch."If you fall," he began.  
  
Jack shrugged. "Nothing's going to happen to me, right? I can survive anything."   
  
He didn't know why, but he had the sudden urge to do something dangerous. He'd waited for over a century in the hopes that the Doctor could do something for his immortality. Now that the fact that he really _would_ be like this forever was sinking in, compounded by the fact that he'd wanted nothing more over the past year than to simply _die_ … well, he didn't really feel like being cautious. "I can help you," he said firmly.   
  
The Doctor frowned, but could not argue. Instead, he shoved a hardhat onto Jack's head and snapped it under his chin. "Now don't go dying unnecessarily. It's just inconvenient," he said simply.   
  
Jack smirked. "All in the name of science." He grabbed the pack of equipment from where it lay at his feet and slung it over his shoulder. "Going down?" He gave the Doctor a mock salute.  
  
"Don't even know why I asked you to come," muttered the Doctor, as Jack stepped out over the void.   
  
"Oh, you don't have to _ask_ me to come," said Jack, grinning lasciviously.   
  
The Doctor scowled, but Jack could detect the hint of a smile behind it. "Be careful!" he called, as he bent to pick up Jack's coat, folding it over his arm. Two of Bradford's team members began to man the winch, lowering Jack into the hole. "I don't want to listen to complaining for the next several centuries if you mess something up permanently."  
  
"Hasn't happened to me yet!" Jack called back. The Doctor said something else, but Jack couldn't make it out.   
  
Darkness gradually overtook him as he descended and he fumbled for the light on his helmet. This wasn't a wholly new experience for Jack–he'd been spelunking and he'd spent more time weevil-hunting in the sewers of Cardiff than he'd have liked to, but there was a feeling of trepidation in the pit of his stomach that he just couldn't shake. Had his time on the Valiant really made him that jumpy? Or was what the Doctor said about permanently messing something up gotten to him?   
  
Jack had never really gotten the urge to experiment, but he was pretty sure he could survive anything. He'd survived Abaddon, hadn't he? Plus, what trouble could he get into down a mineshaft?  
  
As he eased himself down, finding nothing to look at in the small circle of light but the packed-dirt walls and the various creepie-crawlies that inhabited them, Jack mentally ticked off all the things that could go wrong.   
  
He could run out of air. Bradford's people had assured him that the pocket of air in cave contained oxygen, but their scans could have been off. Plus, as Jack descended, it seemed like there was less air by the second.   
  
There could be a cave-in. If that happened, the Doctor would surely have him dug out, even though no one else would think there was any way he could survive.   
  
That was quite a comforting thought, actually. Whatever happened, the Doctor would come after him. Except for that one time Jack had waited for over a century.   
  
But surely Jack had proven himself sufficiently devoted, hadn't he? He'd waited for the Doctor and stayed with him through that year. Plus, it had been the Doctor who had asked Jack to come with him. Twice. In fact, he'd even come back a second time, even after Jack had said no. That must mean something, right?  
  
Suddenly, all such thoughts were forced from Jack's head. All too quickly, he was reminded of something else that could happen to him down here.   
  
He could fall.   
  


**

  
  
"What do you mean he's gone?" asked the Doctor in a low voice.  
  
"He's gone, Doctor," said Bradford.   
  
"He's not _gone_ ," said the Doctor sharply. "He's just fallen down the mineshaft. I can go get him." He glanced around him, looking for more equipment, his hands in his hair. Jack was his responsibility. He couldn't have lost him on this little trip.  
  
"Dr. Smith," said Bradford calmly, "he's gone. No one could have survived a fall down there."   
  
"Well, he _did_ ," the Doctor insisted, whipping around. "I can assure you, he _did_." He marched over to the pile of equipment on the ground by the trailer and grabbed another harness, taking off his coat as he did so. "So I am going down there and you do not have to… cover me, or do anything, and I promise not to sue–" He climbed into the harness. It was identical to the one Jack had had, which wasn't actually very confidence-building.   
  
"Dr. Smith, this is a dangerous job. Surely, your friend knew the risks…"  
  
The Doctor grunted, trying to fasten the carabiner with the sonic screwdriver. "Risks, or not," he muttered. "I'm not in the habit of leaving people down holes."  
  
"But, Dr. Smith–"   
  
"It's just Doctor," said the Doctor pointedly, pausing to look at Bradford. "I'm the Doctor, and that man down there is Captain Jack Harkness. He is my companion and I do not leave my companions behind. Now, do you have access to any kind of digging equipment, anything that digs?"   
  
Bradford paled. "Well… th-there's the mining equipment, but they can't start now, we're still excavating!"  
  
The Doctor's voice became dangerously low, his tone surprising even himself. He hadn't intended for this one trip with Jack to get so out of hand, but it had, and it was his fault. "That man down there is my responsibility," he said coldly "I am going to get him out of there and you are going to help me."   
  
Bradford swallowed hard and nodded.   
  
"Now then." The Doctor grinned at Bradford as he pushed himself off from the edge to hang suspended over the shaft. "I usually say allons-y in these situations, but..." He let go of the slack in his hands. "Au revoir!"  
  


**

  
  
Jack gasped himself back to life and instantly regretted it.   
  
He was jammed into such a tight space he couldn't move. What was the use of being alive if he couldn't move? There was probably hardly any air in this pocket of earth, either. Sooner or later, he was going to suffocate.   
  
Would the Doctor come for him? Jack couldn't believe he wouldn't, and it wasn't as though the Doctor cared about what people thought–even if the workers thought Jack would have been dead, he'd still find a way. He _always_ found a way.  
  
_Except for when he left you behind_ , the voice in his head reminded him.   
  
Even though it had been over a century for Jack, he still found himself dwelling on the Doctor's abandonment of him. He'd claimed it had been purely instinctual, and he'd also blamed the TARDIS. Jack wasn't sure how true that was, though. He'd always had a special fondness for the ship. Jack shook his head. No, he didn't need to be thinking about that. Not here, not now.  
  
He tried to shift his body to get an idea of whether or not all his limbs were still attached. They seemed to be–he guessed he'd died of a broken neck, which seemed to have healed properly and relatively pain-free.   
  
He was now beginning to be able to piece together what had happened. He'd fallen, that much was obvious. There had probably been some sort of cave-in, Jack thought. He could get through this. He'd survived the last year, after all. He could survive anything.  
  
Literally, of course.   
  
Figuratively was another story.   
  
He heard a scraping sound above him and it may have been his imagination, but it seemed a little lighter around him.   
  
"Jack?"  
  
It was probably his imagination.  
  
A spray of dust and pebbles rained down on him and Jack blinked furiously to clear his eyes. Was that his imagination as well?  
  
"Jack!"   
  
Jack stiffened. "Doctor?" he croaked, his throat dry.   
  
"Yup, that's me." A long-fingered hand appeared in the gap Jack had thought he'd seen a faint light through before and a minute later, a brown eye followed. "Hello in there! All in one piece?"  
  
"I think so," Jack managed. "I'm a little stuck, though."  
  
The Doctor tsked at him. "You do get yourself into trouble. Well, it can't be helped. I suppose I'll have to free you." The eye disappeared and a second later, Jack heard the sounds of physical exertion as the Doctor began moving rocks to free Jack.  
  
"Mm," said Jack. "Love hearing you groan over me, Doc."  
  
The Doctor didn't say anything, but he began working more quickly. Jack closed his eyes as the level of falling debris increased. He felt his eyes water as the dust irritated him. Suddenly, he felt a rush of air as the Doctor let out a final grunt and there was the sound of a particularly large rock being shoved free. "There we are," said the Doctor, sounding out of breath. "I've got you, come on up."  
  
Jack opened his eyes to see the Doctor leaning over him. The concern in his eyes seemed so genuine it was almost surprising and Jack felt his stomach flip-flop.   
  
"You didn't have to come down here," he said.  
  
"Oh, yes, I did, come on." The Doctor knelt, sliding his arm under Jack's shoulder and pulled him up. "Good on you, I don't think anything's broken."  
  
"Yeah, I'm okay," said Jack, working his way out of the Doctor's grasp as soon as he was upright. "How are we getting back up?" He brushed himself off, straightening his ripped and dusty clothes. He twitched when the Doctor reached up to brush some pebbles out of his hair.   
  
"I've got a man working on that," said the Doctor brightly. He paused, head cocked to the side, as if listening for a sound Jack couldn't hear.  
  
"So, it'll be a while, I guess?" Jack didn't mean to sound annoyed, but… well, anyone would be annoyed if they'd fallen to the bottom of a mineshaft and died, wouldn't they?   
  
"Seems like," said the Doctor, sitting down on a nearby rock. "Would give us time to talk."  
  
Jack looked away. For some reason, he didn't feel much like talking. Perhaps it was because such disaster had befallen him so soon after he'd gotten free of the Master. It had been much longer for the Doctor, and Jack wondered if he even realized that.  
  
For the first time, Jack realized where they were. The cavern was so large, it ended in darkness above their heads. It ought to have struck him as odd that there was a large cavern so far underground but he did recall the people they'd met on the surface mentioning that the tests they'd run had indicated such.  
  
"What's this?" he asked, taking a few steps away from the Doctor. The air smelled damp and old, as if it hadn't been breathed in thousands of years.   
  
"Lots of air pockets in the ground, some planets," the Doctor said, rubbing his nose. "It's just a natural geologic process."  
  
Jack ignored him, instead gazing up. "Are you sure?" he said, his voice echoing. He laid a hand on the smooth-cut wall. Erosion?   
  
The Doctor stood, his curiosity piqued, and joined Jack, their earlier tension seemingly forgotten. "I'm beginning to be less sure. You know, Jack, that looks man-made." There was a hint of a grin in his voice and Jack was again reminded of the way he'd felt earlier when thinking of what the prospect of traveling with the Doctor heralded.   
  
"You think?" Jack heard himself ask.  
  
"I do think," the Doctor allowed. He stuck his hand into his trouser pocket and withdrew an enormous torch that Jack was positive he wouldn't have been able to fit in there if he were an ordinary man. He again got that familiar shiver of anticipation that always came before the Doctor was about to reveal something big he'd figured out.   
  
Jack half-expected Rose to pipe up with something and he felt oddly awkward when he remembered she wasn't there.   
  
"What is it, Doc?" he asked, going over to stand next to the other man. If she couldn't be there for them, for the Doctor, then, well, Jack couldn't hurt, could he?  
  
"Hard to say," the Doctor murmured, completely lost in thought and apparently oblivious to what had just gone on in Jack's mind. His hand dipped once again into his suit pocket and withdrew his spectacles. He slipped them on and crouched down to the base of the rock wall that arched above their heads, studying what differentiated it from the pile of rocks let loose by Jack's fall. "Take a look at this!" he announced gleefully.  
  
Jack followed the Doctor's extended index finger and the torch beam to some carvings on the wall.   
  
"TARDIS isn't translating," said Jack.  
  
"Right…" said the Doctor slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. "We may be too far underground." In the light offered by the torch, Jack saw that old wicked grin on the Doctor's features. He realized he hadn't noticed it looking so genuine since they'd begun this trip. "But if I had to guess, I'd say it's a directional sign."  
  
"A directional sign? How do you figure?" Jack may not have lived for as long as the Doctor had, but he'd lived long enough to come to the realization that he'd never have the Doctor's mind.  
  
"Because of the big arrow," said the Doctor plainly, running his finger under what was, indeed, a big arrow. "What do you say, Jack? Shall we follow it?"  
  
Jack hesitated. He glanced back up to the shaft. "Aren't they coming for us?"  
  
The Doctor waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, they'll be hours. Come on, Jack! Just like old times, you and me." He offered his hand and hesitantly, Jack took it.  
  
"Just like old times, huh?" he asked.  
  
The Doctor gave him an unreadable smile. "Quite a bit."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the year that never was, the Doctor gives Jack one more chance to travel with him.

They walked in silence for a few long minutes before Jack was possessed to open his mouth.  
  
"Do you think this is what they were looking for?"  
  
"You mean our gracious hosts? Might be." The Doctor looked thoughtful. "I've heard of Yanda-Orr, just never knew what became of it."  
  
They were again silent. Finally, Jack spoke up again.  
  
"I'm sorry. I never really said that. About Rose."  
  
The Doctor hesitated, taking a deep breath. "Yeah. So am I."  
  
"And Martha," Jack added.  
  
"That was her decision," the Doctor clarified. "And it was probably the right one, too."  
  
Jack didn't pursue the unsaid implication that Rose hadn't left by choice. He just wished he'd gotten another chance to see her.  
  
"They're brilliant, though," the Doctor continued. "Humans. I mean…" He glanced over at Jack. "You're human, but they… you know."  
  
"I do know," said Jack quietly, thinking of his team, wondering what they were doing now, though "now" was relative.  
  
There was a pregnant pause, and the Doctor said, "I don't mean that I don't think of you as… as a companion, Jack. I just mean you're different."  
  
He snorted. "Yeah, my condition, you've said."  
  
The Doctor sighed. "It's not that. Jack… I–I'm sorry. I'm sorry I ran away from you."  
  
"I thought you said that was the TARDIS."  
  
"I'm sorry for that, too," the Doctor added.  
  
"Not me you should apologize to."  
  
The Doctor looked at him and realized he was smiling. He cracked a grin, too. "First thing I'll do when we get back then."  
  
"Good," said Jack. "Because, you know, I had a feeling…"  
  
"It's that you're just such a _fact_ , Jack. You're so… _there_." He seemed to be making a point to look directly at Jack as he said this. "Me, I always preferred the wibbly and the wobbly. Feels less like I'm being confronted head-on."  
  
Jack shrugged. "Not your fault."  
  
"Well, it's got to be someone's fault."  
  
"Oh, don't start," said Jack quickly. "I'd do it all over again if it meant I could live long enough to find you again."  
  
The Doctor sighed. "And I'm sorry you had to do that, Jack, I'm sorry I ran from you that time, too. I was regenerating, I–no." He shook his head. "There's no excuse."  
  
They were silent again, the only sound their shoes slapping on the now-obviously man-made tiles beneath their feet.  
  
"So, are we even now?" Jack asked.  
  
"Yeah, I suppose we are," said the Doctor. He paused. "Oh, look. We've come to a dead end."  
  
Jack glanced up, not having noticed himself. He didn't say anything.  
  
"I guess we'll have to just wait," said the Doctor briskly, sitting down on the ground and bracing his back against the wall. Jack stayed standing.  
  
"I really am sorry, though," the Doctor continued. "I feel like… Lately, I feel like I've been taking… advantage of your, erm, ability. Here… and on the Valiant."  
  
Jack shrugged. "Nah, I mean… Least I can do."  
  
"No, Jack, you… you shouldn't feel obligated to do any of that." He looked Jack straight in the eyes, his brown eyes filling Jack with warm. Without even telling them to move, Jack's feet carried him over to where the Doctor was and he sat down.  
  
"You're my companion, Jack," said the Doctor softly, his voice echoing in the cavern, even as low as it was. "I haven't always treated you like one, but… you are my companion." He reached out and gave Jack a rough pat on the knee. "I'm sorry. When we get out of here, I'll make it up to you."  
  
Jack paused. The feeling of the Doctor's hand on his knee raised the hairs on the back of his neck. He was about to open his mouth, but he was interrupted by a rumbling above their heads.  
  
The Doctor leapt to his feet.  
  
"Is it another cave-in?" Jack asked, standing.  
  
The Doctor paled. "It's the drill," he murmured. "Ohh, they're coming down to get us but it's compromising the structural integrity of the cavern." The light went out as the Doctor dropped his torch and it was all Jack could do to keep from losing the Doctor.  
  
Not even knowing why he reacted so quickly, perhaps being driven by some instinct he couldn't place, Jack grabbed the Doctor's hand and pulled him forward, in the direction they'd been heading. What had once been sheer rock wall was now collapsing around them but Jack spotted an expanding gap and took it, pulling the Doctor through.  
  
"Well, this is a pickle," said the Doctor, panting and leaning up against the wall of the tunnel they now found themselves in.  
  
"What's that?" asked Jack, pointing over the Doctor's shoulder. The Doctor turned, frowning.  
  
"Oh," he murmured. "Oh, that's… that's… just…"  
  
He grinned. "Oh, Jack, you're brilliant."  
  
As Jack's eyes adjusted to the lack of light from the torch, he noticed that they now found themselves in an even larger cavern than the one they'd just vacated.  
  
"Here it is," said the Doctor in a low voice. "I do believe–if I'm not mistaken–that _this_ is what they've been looking for."  
  
"You mean that city?" Jack glanced up, taking in the immense… well, city was the only name for it… that had been carved into the rock. It reminded Jack of something from his childhood, as similar dwellings had existed on the Boeshane Peninsula.  
  
"When was this place built, do you think?" he asked.  
  
The Doctor had his sonic screwdriver out and was using it to scan the city. It seemed painfully empty to Jack and he was suddenly by the enormity of time. All of this was gone from the standpoint of when they were standing, but it would only take a few minutes for them to return to when Yanda-Orr was in its glory days. Somewhere back in the timestream, this civilization was flourishing. And somewhere ahead in the timestream, the civilization above their heads was dead.  
  
"Oh, maybe, mid-sixth millennium." The Doctor cocked his head. "This would have been bustling, once upon a time, but now, look. People moved on, built bigger cities, developed new religions… they didn't need this old place anymore." He looked glum at the prospect, though it had already happened.  
  
"You can see it, can't you?" Jack asked, keeping his voice low so as not to disturb whatever ghosts might be lurking in these ruins. "The way it… used to be."  
  
The Doctor examined the screwdriver in his hands as if he didn't know its settings in his sleep. "I do, Jack. That's… that's my life. I see the whole of everything. I can see how everything ages, everything withers, everything dies." He paused. "Except you, Jack."  
  
"Yeah, I know," said Jack gruffly. He looked away.  
  
"No, no, no, it's not like that at all." The Doctor reached out to take his arm and their eyes met. Again, something twitched inside Jack. "You're different, yes, but I'm starting to find it… refreshing." He grinned. "Like a cool glass of lemonade."  
  
Jack smirked.  
  
The Doctor let his smile linger for a moment before letting go of Jack's arm and stepping away. "Right, then. I reckon that we ought to warn those nice people up there before they've destroyed this lovely old city rescuing little old us, am I right?"  
  
"It's a good plan," said Jack, "but how do you suppose we do that?"  
  
The Doctor started to laugh, which wasn't the reaction Jack had been expecting.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"Jack, give me your arm." The Doctor held out his hand impatiently and Jack extended his right arm. "No, the other one," the Doctor corrected. "The one with the _teleport device_ on it."  
  
Realization dawned on Jack and he suddenly felt very stupid. He took a step closer and once again, the Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at Jack's vortex manipulator.  
  
"Y'know," said Jack conversationally, "if you didn't re-break it, we could save a lot of time."  
  
"Oh, stop it," said the Doctor fondly. Before Jack could say another word, the Doctor had grabbed Jack's hand and activated the device.  
  


**

  
  
Jack was frustrated that the Doctor seemed able to use Jack's own vortex manipulator better than Jack himself could. He purposely dropped them out of sight of the work crew so that they wouldn't just appear, instead, regaling them with a harrowing tale of their narrow escape through a collapsing tunnel. Jack guessed that this was a shrouded lesson against drilling too hastily.  
  
Bradford and his team seemed sufficiently apologetic.  
  
"Oh, no problem!" exclaimed the Doctor. "We're only doing our jobs." He paused. "Aren't we?"  
  
Jack remained silent much of the way back to the TARDIS, his head down, hands jammed deep into the dusty pockets of his greatcoat. He wasn't looking forward to the end of his time with the Doctor. This unexpected trip, as bad as it had been, had sparked his desire again and he was very much regretting saying no to the Doctor earlier. He swallowed the lump in his throat.  
  
The squeak of the TARDIS doors when the Doctor opened them filled Jack's stomach with dread.  
  
"Sorry about that," said the Doctor, pacing the console as if checking that it was just as he left it. Apparently satisfied, he began manipulating controls and the TARDIS dematerialized. As the sound faded, Jack's stomach knotted. Any second now, the Doctor would bring them out of the vortex, right back where they started.  
  
Cardiff. The second time that day (sort of) that Jack would be dropped off there.  
  
The Doctor leaned on the console and curled his fingers into a fist.  
  
"Jack," he said, the way his voice said the name sending an unbidden shiver down Jack's spine.  
  
"Doctor," he made himself answer.  
  
The Doctor frowned as if steeling himself before straightening up and turning to Jack. "You meet up with your team on the evening of sixteenth of January 2009. Now, due to the nature of my wonderful ship–" he patted a piece of coral and the TARDIS hummed contentedly "–we could, if we wanted to of course, maybe… do something… if we wanted to. Before I have to drop you off to become part of events again."  
  
The corners of Jack's lips twitched. "What are you saying, Doc?"  
  
The Doctor crossed over to Jack and stood in front of him, so they were almost touching. "Fancy one last trip?"


End file.
